


Cassiopeia

by Linorien



Series: 007 Fest 2019 [2]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Gen, albeit a poor attempt at such
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-05-19 06:56:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19351792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien
Summary: A snapshot of M having a quiet moment in her office.





	Cassiopeia

**Author's Note:**

> Angst prompt table - Identity  
> Also for Bond Girl Day

M sits on the large chair in her office, the tall back rising above her head like a throne. In the beginning, she felt like she was dwarfed by the chair, it held more reverence than her. Now she knows she’s filled in the title with her own brand of leadership. Stern, uncompromising, but seeking to talk rather than start violence. The Cold War had led to an uncivilized way of thinking some people in positions of power were over-keen to keep. But there was a woman on the real throne and so on her own throne, she was determined to keep up at least the appearance of decency. 

That’s not to say that some days the arm rests didn’t feel more like chains than supports. Days when budgetary reports needed to be completed or when she was expected to explain how a terrorist had gotten hold of their agent listings and was putting them on the internet, couldn’t they take them down? She tried to explain that the budget cuts hadn’t allowed her to hire anyone who had the skills necessary to hack youtube and they certainly hadn’t been able to afford hiring someone to teach those skills. 

And some days she had to make the hard choice to abandon agents. She had left Rodriguez in Hong Kong as part of a trade that he never knew about. She left Bond in Korea. Both escaped and didn’t return quite the same. 

Other days she found ways to use her throne for purposes she felt were noble. She sat in a hearing and defended the future of her agency even as it crumbled. She continually told military officials to remain patient and wait for her agents to report back with real details. She hired a young hacker who wirelessly delivered a resume to her desktop. She gave a woman destined to be the best secretary ever, the real training she deserved. 

And at the end of the day, she retreated to the obscurity of family life. Where she was simply a wife. A mother. She remembered that she could be a queen on a large throne with command over armies for as long as she was able, but her most valued position was a far simpler one.


End file.
